Knitting machine needle



y 15, 6 c. w. MINTON 3,034,325

KNITTING MACHINE NEEDLE Filed Aug. 10, 1959 INVENTOR C. W.MINTON ATTORNEY llman Uite This invention relates to textiles, to the production thereof, and to the equipment employed in the knitting or manufacture of the same including articles of various kinds and of which hosiery is an example.

The invention more particularly includes a needle of the character employed with the conventional dial and cylinder type knitting machine used for making seamless hosiery.

Rib knitting has been performed on knitting machines employing both vertically and horizontally reciprocable needles mounted in grooves in the outer surface of the structures with which the needles are associated. Needles which operate horizontally have been mounted in radial grooves in a dial or plate and these needles cooperate with vertically reciprocable needles in the needle cylinder during the knitting operation and in which there is a transfer of the yarn from the dial needles to the cylinder needles. In the transfer of the yarn in this type of structure the dial needles are extended beyond the peripheral limits of the dial and the yarn is similarly extended in loops by the dial needles. The cylinder needles are projected upwardly into such loops to transfer the loops from the dial needles to the cylinder needles. It is destable to have these loops of sufficient width that they will be certain to receive the cylinder needles.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved knitting needle with structure to present an enlarged loop to facilitate transfer of the loops between the cooperating needles of the dial and cylinder as well as a needle that will temporarily flex or bend to produce such enlarged loop.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved knitting needle which will normally be straight within the confines of the dial "but which when extended beyond the margin of the dial its outer end portion will change its plane to provide an enlarged loop.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary top plan illustrating one application of the invention;

FIG. 2, an enlarged fragmentary perspective of a portion of the dial and cylinder of a knitting machine;

FIG. 3, a plan view of the needle itself; and

FIG. 4, an end view thereof.

Briefly stated, the invention is an improved needle having a thin elongated body with a reduced portion at one end terminating in a hook. The needle is adapted to be located in radial slots in a dial and be projected and retracted. It is composed of flexible material and has a reduced intermediate portion. The outer or book forming end of the needle is offset from the plane of the body of the same when the needle is in its projected or free position and in alignment with the body when in its retracted position within the receiving slot in the dial.

With continued reference to the drawing, the needle of the present invention comprises a relatively thin body 11 having a reduced portion 12 at one end forming a shoulder 13 and an inclined portion 14 disposed between such shoulder and the reduced portion 12. The reduced portion 12 terminates in a hook 15 the openingof which may be closed by a latch 16 mounted by a pivot 17 in a slot 18 in the reduced portion 1-2. A recess 19 is provided in the body adjacent the shoulder 13 to accommorates Patent 3,034,325 Patented May 15, 1962 ice . 2 date a conventional knitting needle 20.mounted in a cyl-. inder 211. I

The needle 10 is reciprocably mounted in adial 2S having radial slots 26 each of which has anenlarged cutout portion 20 at the periphery of the dial in which inclined surfaces '28 are provided with conical concave surfaces 29 directed inwardlytoward the center of the dial.

The needle 10 is constructed from flexible material and is adapted to be twisted or warpedin the area of the recess 19 so that thereduced portion 1.2.3I1d the shoulder 13 are disposed in .a different plane than the .body 11 when the needle is projected from the dial. In order to project and retract the needle in the slots 26, the needle is provided with a butt 30 which cooperates with conventional cams (not shown) to move the needle in and out of the dial so that yarn 31 may be knit in the conven tional manner.

In the operation of the device a loop of yarn is engaged by the shoulder 18 and extended beyond the limits of the dial during the rib knitting process. When the loop of yarn is extended it is desirable to open or widen the loop so that the needle 20 carried by the cylinder 21 will be certain to enter the loop and prevent the dropping of a stitch. 'In order to widen the loop the needle 10 has its outer end distorted out of the plane of the body 11 so that when the needle is projected beyond the periphery of the dial the end of the needle will assume a diiferent angle than the body of the needle to open the loop. When the needle is retracted the portion of the needle which was distorted will bear against the concave portion 29 of the dial slot 26 and as the needle is retracted further the distorted portion of the needle will return to the same plane as the body of the needle. The loop of yarn which was on the dial needle is transferred to the cylinder needle 20 and as the dial needle is retracted the latch 16 which was opened to permit the yarn to be engaged by the shoulder 13 will'be closed by the yarn and the needle retracted without the hook engaging the yarn.

It will be apparent that a needle is provided which will open a loop of yarn to aid in the transfer of such loop from the dial needles to the cylinder needles during a rib knitting operation without the necessity of having separate attachments or without the necessity of modifying a conventional dial.

The novel dial needle of the present invention can perform an additional function in making the welt at the top of stockings in which alternate stitches are engaged by the dial needles and retained thereon while the cylinder needles form a sufiicient number of courses of stitches to make the welt. Upon completion of the necessary number of courses in the welt, the loops or stitches which have been held in the dial needles are transferred to the cylinder needles in the manner previously described.

This structure avoids the necessityof having bits which are conventionally used in this type of machine to complete the welt.

It will be obvious to one skilled in the art that var-ions changes may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope thereof and therefore the invention is not limited by that which is illustrated in the drawing and described in the specification, but only as ing adapted for engaging yarn, said shoulder portion and said reduced portion being inclined to the plane of said body when said needle is projected from said di-a-l, said slots having inclined surfacesformed at the outer end 1 thereof for engaging and twisting said shoulder portion "and, reduced portion upon the? retraction of said needle to place said reduced portion and shoulder portion in line 7 with said body when said needle is retracted.

' 2. For use in anautomatic transfer knitting machine reduced portion -fonming a hook, a shoulder portion formed at the juncture of said body and reduced portion,"

said shoulder portion being adapted for engaging yarn, said shoulder portion and reduced portion being oifset from the plane of the body when said needle is projeoted from a slot; whereby, when said needle is retracted into a slot, a cammiug surface twists said shoulder portion and reduced portion to place said reduced portion and said shoulder portion substantially in line with said 10 body.

action dial needle movable between projected and retracted positions, said needle comprising an elongated body'and a reduced portion at one end of said body, said 15 2,740,276

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Minton Apr. 3, 1956 

